


The Case of the Cooking Calamities

by Libraryadia, Mara_Jade101



Series: Kids No More [6]
Category: Agatha Girl of Mystery - Sir Steve Stevenson, The InBESTigators (TV)
Genre: Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Cooking, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Kid Detectives AU, Kidnapping, Male-Female Friendship, Multi, Orphans, Spies & Secret Agents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:47:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 17
Words: 6,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28753143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Libraryadia/pseuds/Libraryadia, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mara_Jade101/pseuds/Mara_Jade101
Summary: When Ava makes it into an elite kids cooking competition, Maudie decides it’s the perfect time for her cousin Agatha to visit. The timing does indeed turn out to be perfect because someone Dash is tracking for MI6 has fled to Australia and information indicates they’re hiding out near where the competition is being held. But the competition proves a perfect opportunity for the fugitive to throw sand into the wind and sabotage starts to run rampant at “Kid Chef Challenge”.With danger all around, the Inbestigators are in the middle of the scariest case of their lives. Will they make it out the other side unscathed or are Agatha and Dash doomed to fail them?
Relationships: Agatha Mistery/Dash Parker, Ezra Banks & Maudie Miller & Ava Andrikides & Kyle Klimson
Series: Kids No More [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1889242





	1. Chapter 1- Dash Parker

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” MI6’s Junior Division Agent Dash Parker stated as he stared up at his supervisor. “I mean, no offense Sir, but this is insanity! Six different criminals, all ranging in deadliness, have escaped from Newgate Prison, and the only one left has fled to where?!?”

“Melbourne, Australia.” MI6 Agent Adam Clark stated, looking at Dash over the top of his glasses. “I understand that your partner has family there?”

Dash sighed and sank back in his chair. “Yes Sir. Agatha just heard from her cousin’s father a few weeks ago inviting us to visit…” he snapped his head up at Agent Clark’s chuckle. 

“Well, it seems you have the perfect cover to deal with this case, Agent Parker.”

His eyes widened. “Sir-”

“Agent Parker, I am requesting you and your partner to go to Melbourne, Australia to catch this criminal and bring him back to Newgate. We will reach out to ASIS to let them know you are coming and are undercover as well.”

He let out a laugh. “Thank you Sir!”

Agent Clark nodded, then hesitated. “...Agent Parker, you can't let your partner’s cousin know that you work for MI6… or what your ability is.”

Dash sighed and flexed his hand. Ever since the beginning of the year, he and Agatha had noticed something… odd about themselves... but last summer, they had met a group of fellow Kid Detectives who had that same odd feeling about themselves and had taken an instant liking to them, even thinking about sharing secrets that they normally reserved for MI6’s top agents-

“Agent Parker?”

“Yes Sir, I understand.” He answered.

“Very good. Dismissed.”

Dash stood to his feet and walked out of the door, pulling out his phone used only for communicating with the Kids and Agatha- 

_ “Día duit- oh, Hello, Dash!” _

“Hey, Agatha. We’ve got a case.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! Mara Jade here, and we're back at it again with another story. We hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Some language notes:  
> Since Agatha is Scot-Irish, she is fluent in Gaelic with herself and Dash serving as translator.  
> "Día Duit" literally means "god be with you", and it commonly serves as "Hello".


	2. Chapter 2- Ezra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maudie and Agatha reunite.

Ezra watched Maudie bouncing on her heels outside the competition hall. _‘I almost never see her this excited.’_

“Maudie, stop it,” Kyle complained. “You’re making me dizzy!”

Maudie stopped bouncing to give him a quizzical look. “You never say that when Ava is bouncing with excitement.”

“That’s because she’s Ava,” Kyle said in a matter-of-fact tone. “You’re Maudie and you’re the calm and sensible one. Everyone says so.”

Maudie cocked her head but laughed. “I suppose that’s true. It’s just that this is the first time I’ll have gotten to see Aggie in years. We’ve chatted on the KDN, yes. But seeing her in person…”

“Maudie?” a voice called.

Maudie turned, Ezra and Kyle following her gaze, and her face lit up. “Aggie!”

Agatha Mistery laughed and deftly caught Maudie as the younger girl launched herself at her cousin. “Good to see you too, Maudie.”

Agatha’s boyfriend Dash came up behind her with a wry grin. “You let her call you Aggie?”

“The list of people who can use that nickname is short,” Agatha deadpanned. “Maudie just happens to be on it.”

Dash laughed and turned towards Ezra and Kyle. “Hey, you two. Where’s Ava?”

“Filling out MOUNTAINS of paperwork,” Kyle said with a grimace. “I never knew there was such writing involved in cooking.”

Maudie giggled as Agatha set her down. “It’s not precisely the cooking that the paperwork is for, Kyle.”

Ezra nodded. “Yeah. The people in charge want to make sure all the contestants are transparent about any allergies or sensitivities they have.”

“Oh…” Kyle blinked. “But why would you enter a cooking competition if there could be a challenge you can’t complete because you can’t work with some of the ingredients?”

“It happens quite a lot with adults and older-but-still-not-adults young chefs,” Agatha said. “I’ve seen more than one case where someone ended up having to work with something they couldn’t consume. Like a young chef who was barred from drinking alcohol both by law and by her religion.” She rolled her eyes. “Of course, she was supposedly harder to accommodate than a vegan chef for whom everything was altered.”

Kyle frowned. “People like that are stupid.”

“But that’s one reason for the paperwork,” Maudie said. “This way, the challenges can be tailored so that everyone is able to complete the challenge to the best of their ability. No ‘I can’t make this dish; I’m frightfully allergic to eggs’ or ‘I can’t make this meat pie; I can’t work with beef’ stumbling blocks.”

Agatha smiled. “All right then; inside we go.”


	3. Chapter 3- Agatha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agatha visits the InBESTigators.

They stepped inside the building to see Ava Andrikides seated at a table, calmly filling out paperwork while anxiously tapping her hands on the table. Agatha chuckled. “You weren't kidding, Kyle... that’s a literal MOUNTAIN of paperwork.”

“Almost as much as we have to deal with back home.” Dash muttered softly. 

She elbowed him roughly and mouthed “Shut up.”

Ava looked up at them and waved excitedly. “Hey guys! Hey, Agatha and Dash!”

“Hey, Ava!” She responded, walking up to her as Ava gave her a hug. “How are you?”

“I'm good.” She answered, grabbing the pen and placing it on the table. “I’m almost done, anyway. This is taking forever…”

Maudie giggled. “Well, when you’re done, we can hang out!”

Ava nodded and ran back to her seat as Maudie grabbed her hand and ran toward the main table. “Come on! I want to show you what she has to make!”

“Let me guess-”

“No guessing!” Maudie said as she grabbed a piece of paper and held it out to her. “The competition starts in two days. As soon as Ava’s done with paperwork, we can show you around here and you can see my dad!”

Agatha smiled softly. “I’d like that…”


	4. Chapter 4: Ava/Maudie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of the competition yields something interesting to watch.

Finally the first day of the competition had arrived. Ava had butterflies in her stomach but seeing her friends, her parents and Agatha and Dash in the audience made her feel better.

“Hmph. Typical girl.”

That however didn’t. Ava turned to give Jaxon Green an indignant glare, one mirrored by Heidi Moore and Aria Wright. The rest of the contestants were too far away to hear.

Jaxon simply gave the three girls smug grins. “Why don’t you ladies go back to your little kitchens and leave the cooking to the boys?”

“Considering that my parents own a restaurant and I’ve been helping in the kitchen since I could safely be in there whereas you only started cooking a couple years ago, I’d say you’re the one who shouldn’t be here,” Heidi said evenly.

“And just because you cook in the home, that doesn’t mean it’s lesser,” Aria added. “Anyone can cook. And with enough time and practice, anyone can do it well.”

The host clapped his hands. “For your first round, we’re doing a non-elimination round. Everyone will be making something they like to make and make well. Hit the kitchen area and grab what you need. You have 10 minutes, starting...now!”

Ava zipped into the kitchen, grabbing a shopping basket on her way in. She collected flour, eggs, milk, baking powder, sugar, vanilla extract, salt, chocolate and raspberry extract. She headed for her cooking station and quickly began her Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting. She began to lose herself in the cooking but not before she thought she saw someone sneaking around the set. _‘But I’m sure it’s my imagination.’_

XXX

Maudie frowned as she spotted someone out of the corner of her eye but when she looked in the direction she had seen them, they had vanished.

“Something wrong, Maudie?” Agatha asked from her seat on Maudie’s left.

“I thought I saw someone…”

“Well, there is a pretty large crew since this is being recorded,” Ezra said. “I think I heard something about this being one of those weird competitions where the show isn’t cut together until everything is over. Something about how that cuts down on manipulative editing.”

Dash snorted. “Believe me, Ezra; there’s usually manipulative editing. They probably do that so they don’t have to shuffle things around to cover stuff like someone being injured by something going wrong or a contestant accidentally being exposed to an allergen.”

Agatha smiled gently and wrapped her arm around Maudie. “You’re probably just seeing things because you’re nervous about Ava.”

Maudie nodded; that made sense.

“And besides, even if something does go wrong, we’re six detectives on site and several others on demand with the KDN.”

Maudie smiled; that did make her feel better.


	5. Chapter 5- Dash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dash learns a bit more about what he and Agatha have to face.

Dash watched Ava, feeling his eyes narrow in suspicion. Maudie wasn't the only one who had seen the figure walking around, and he was starting to get worried. _‘I wonder if… No… he wouldn't do that, would he?’_

To distract himself, he pulled out his phone and read over the mission report again.

**||||DATE: 6 March 2024**

**||||SUBJECT: Mission Down Under**

**||||TASK: Find and capture Aidan Hudson, wanted for kidnapping and murder charges. ASIS Agents Arthur Irwin and Alexis Price will assist you on your mission.**

**(Warning: Hudson is known for using dangerous poison methods. If he is found, use non-lethal methods to take him down. USE LETHAL IF LAST RESORT!!!)**

He shook his head again. _‘Poison methods… at a cooking competition… Dashiell, shut the bloody hell up, you're panicking.’_

He looked up from his phone to see Ezra staring at him. “Oh, hey Ezra. What’s up?”

Ezra shrugged casually. “We’re waiting… what are you doing?”

Dash glanced back down at his phone to see his mission report still on the screen and quickly closed it. “Reading something from work.”

Ezra raised an eyebrow. “Where _do_ you work?”

Dash hesitated and glanced at his girlfriend holding Maudie as the two watched the competition. “I’m a… computer specialist at Sign Intelligence in London.”

_‘That’s not a lie, since I’m also a spy for MI6 and they request that I know my way around a computer backwards while hanging upside down from a ceiling…’_

Ezra brightened. “Really? Can you show me some things you do?”

Dash chuckled. “Maybe later. Let’s finish this competition first.”


	6. Chapter 6: Ava

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ava learns more about the competition.

The non-elimination round had ended and Ava was pleased with how her cupcakes had turned out, though she was NOT pleased with Jaxon’s remarks about how “of course a GIRL would make CAKES.” Just because she specialized in sweets didn’t mean she couldn’t make other things.

The head judge clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “All right, Young Chefs. As you leave tonight, we will be giving you a list of all the challenges you will be facing so you can decide what recipes you will be using for each round. Each round will also have limitations due to allergies and sensitivities listed. Good luck!”

Ava grabbed her list and bounced over to join her friends, who were being gently herded by a smiling Agatha.

“So what’s on the agenda outside of keeping up with school?” Agatha asked.

“I can’t believe we’re not allowed to miss school,” Kyle groaned.

“It’s a requirement; we’ll be here for at least three weeks,” Ava said. “And you guys could only come if you agreed to virtual schooling.”

Dash came over, looking over his shoulder. But before Ava could ask if he was all right, he asked “So what are the challenges?”

Ava turned her attention to the list. “Let’s see. Tomorrow we’ll be making a pasta dish. The event after that is recreating one of three dishes, shepherd’s-style pie, stuffed crab or meat Wellington. Third is something they’re calling a flavor swap.”

“How does that work?” Kyle asked in confusion.

“You make two dishes, one sweet and one savory. But each dish is meant to resemble a dish of the opposite flavor. Like a fudge sundae resembling mashed potatoes and gravy or lasagna that resembles strawberry shortcake.”

“Sounds tricky,” Agatha said with a smile. “What else?”

“Fourth, we’re required to make a dish from blueberries. Fifth we’re going to be drawing flavors for doughnuts. Sixth, we’re to make a fish dish, a potato dish and a fruit dish. Seventh, we’re supposed to create a soup or chili with nonstandard ingredients. And the final challenge is to make a four-course meal, soup or salad, appetizer, entree with two sides and homemade bread and a dessert.”

“Any plans?” Ezra asked.

“Well, for the pasta dish, I think I’ll be making a stir-fried pasta with broccoli, beef, mozzarella and chopped tomatoes, all in a marinara base sauce.”

“Sounds tasty,” Agatha said. “Also, very American.”

“It’s based on a menu from a no-longer open restaurant that served stir-fry to order,” Ava explained. “Everything else I’m still thinking about.”

“Well, you have a bit of time to decide,” Agatha said encouragingly. “Come on; I’ll help you with your homework so you can focus on your plans.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Libraryadia: The dish Ava brings up is something I’d get at a restaurant near where my Florida family lives; the restaurant has been closed for a few years but it’s entirely possible to make it in your own kitchen. The rest of the challenges save for three and five are based on actual Master Chef Jr. challenges.   
> Three is based on this fanfic chapter: (https://archiveofourown.org/works/12805206/chapters/30021174#workskin ), though modified; credit will need to be given when posted. Five is based on something from a kids baking show I watched once.


	7. Chapter 7- Agatha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agatha and Dash start talking.

Agatha shook her head slowly as she closed the door to the girls’ hotel room and walked toward her own right next door. Knocking on the door, she opened it to see Dash sitting at a computer with his hands under his chin. Agatha chuckled softly and closed the door behind her and Dash looked up at the sound. “Hey Agatha.”

“Hey, _A Rúnsearc._ How are you?” She asked, walking toward him and sitting on the bed beside him. 

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Okay, I guess. ...but I won't make it to the competition tomorrow…”

She blinked in surprise. “Why not?”

Dash turned the computer toward her and she frowned at the screen before- “You’re meeting with ASIS tomorrow?!?”

“At the same time as the competition.” He confirmed and she groaned, burying her head in her hands. 

“ _Bhuel, tá sé sin go hiontach…_ ” Agatha stopped complaining and looked up at him, her face pale. “Who are you after again?”

“Adrian Hudson.”

She went whiter, if that was even possible. “The alchemist turned poisoner?!? Dash-”

“I have my orders, Agatha.” He said quietly. “But if he goes after you and the kids…” he flexed his hand again, his body briefly disappearing out of view and he sighed as he reappeared. “I won't hesitate. I made you that promise, and I will keep it.”

She nodded slowly. _“Go dtí deireadh an ama…”_

“Until the end of time.” He repeated softly, running his hand across her face before cupping the back of her neck and kissing her deeply.

Agatha breathed softly as he- finally- pulled away. “Good night, Dash.”

“Good night, Agatha.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mara: (Yes, I did my research.)
> 
> Language Notes:   
> "A Runsearc"- Literally, "secret love" and one of the most passionate ways of saying "beloved".  
> "Bhuel, tá sé sin go hiontach…"- "Well, that's just great..."  
> "Go dtí deireadh an ama…”- Literally, "until the end of time". It's a Gaelic promise that can't ever be broken.


	8. Chapter 8: Ava/Ezra

Ava hummed to soothe her nerves as she headed into the ingredients section to collect her materials.

Everyone began working on their pasta and accompanying toppings.

“A stir-fry?” one of the judges asked Ava as he came over. “Quite the unusual choice.”

She nodded. “My mum’s helped me make it before though so I know how it works. It’s been a hit when served.”

“Good on you then,” the judge said before walking off.

Jaxon looked up from his eggplant Parmesan and mockingly mouthed “Jumping the gun, aren’t you?”

Ava ignored him, though she did shoot Annabelle Gray a concerned look as the other girl bit into one of her baked meatballs and made a confused face.

“Are you all right, Annabelle?” another judge asked the girl.

Annabelle gave them an awkward smile. “My meatballs taste a little different than they usually do. But I’m sure it’s just my imagination.”

Ava frowned but refocused on her dish.

XXX

Ezra’s eyes narrowed at Annabelle Gray. “I don’t think she’s imagining things,” he said quietly. “And there appears to be something wrong with Carter Arnold’s Yook Soong Spaghetti Bolognese; he keeps rubbing his hands like they itch.”

Suddenly Annabelle began coughing and holding her stomach. “I...I wasn’t imagining things!” she yelped. “There’s something in my meatballs that shouldn’t be!”

The challenge stopped and one of the judges rushed over with a medic.

Carter made his way over. “And someone put shrimp in my brown sauce; I’m sure of it!”

“Are you positive?” the judge asked.

Carter nodded. “Shrimp makes me break out if I touch it and this rash on my hands looks like the one I got the last time I touched something contaminated with shrimp.”

“Annabelle and Carter are excused for treatment! They will be given a round of their own once they recover. Everyone else finish your dishes.”

Maudie frowned. “Isn’t that unfair?”

“I think it’s unfair in Annabelle and Carter’s favor,” Agatha said thoughtfully. “They’ll get a chance to start fresh while everyone else will have to stick with what they have.”

A yelp rang out and they looked over to see David Shaw struggling with a saucepan that had somehow caught ablaze.

“Like he got distracted just a bit but is going to have to replace his sauce,” Agatha continued.

The round finally wrapped up and David Shaw was eliminated as his rush job sauce on his spinach Alfredo pasta was too salty.

“The results are on hold until we see if Annabelle and Jaxon will be moving on,” the head judge declared. “We will proceed with the rounds once scores are properly tallied.”

Ezra frowned. “Something isn’t right here,” he muttered. “No way kid chefs would grab something they’re allergic to and add it to their dishes.”

There was a round of nods as Agatha said “Looks like we’ve found a mystery…”


	9. Chapter 9- Maudie

Maudie grinned excitedly. “This is going to be fun… a mystery with my cousin!”

They were sitting on the bleachers, Dash having just come back from a “late-work notice that will probably happen again”, according to him, and looking over the list again. Ava nodded to herself. “Ok, we’ve done the first round… next would be the recreation of one of three dishes, shepherd’s-style pie, stuffed crab or meat Wellington.”

Agatha waved her hands in front of Ava’s face. “Hey, Hey Ava? Let’s focus again on what happened in the round today. What did you do today? Don't worry about anything else, just what you did.”

Ava frowned and placed her pen on the table. “Umm… I got the ingredients… then I went to the kitchen… then I started baking.”

Agatha blinked at her and Maudie cleared her throat. “Ava, you forgot about what happened with Jaxon and Annabelle.”

Ava blinked at her. “What do you- Oh! And Jaxon made fun of me before Annabelle bit into her meatballs and noticed that something was wrong…”

“Could one of the ingredients have been mislabeled?” Kyle suggested. 

Ava shook her head. “No. The judges go over each ingredient before each round and take care of that if it happens.”

“So it’s just an accident?” Ezra asked.

Dash shook his head. “N- We don't know.” He said quickly. “It might be. We don't have enough information yet.”

Agatha glanced at him subtly, then turned her attention back to the four. “We’ll have to wait and see if this- or something like this- happens again. If it doesn't, then we know it was just an accident by Annabelle and Carter.”

“And what if it does?” Maudie asked.

She hesitated. “...Then we’ll present our information to the judges and authorities to let them deal with the case- and competition accordingly. Us Kid Detectives can't do everything, you know.”

Dash snorted and muttered something about chasing a Hudson to Australia, which was weird, but Maudie brushed it off. _‘Agatha’s right, this has to be a one-time thing…’_


	10. Chapter 10: Kyle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next round leads to another person getting eliminated.

Kyle watched the remaining contestants in Kids Chef Challenge (Annabelle had been eliminated; according to Ava, her pasta with meatballs had been called “too pedestrian”, whatever that meant) as they set about their varying dishes. Most of them, including Ava, had selected some variation on shepherd’s pie but Jaxon had chosen stuffed crab on a bed of grilled salmon and Aria was making a Wellington with chicken.

“Hey!” Aria suddenly yelled indignantly. “Someone swapped my cooked chicken for raw!”

“You can have an extra 30 minutes to redo that part of your recipe,” the head judge informed her.

Aria muttered angrily but complied.

Eventually the food was completed. Aria had just barely managed to finish her Wellington and had done okay, at least as far as Kyle could tell though the judges didn’t look happy with it. Ava’s shepherd’s pie with a chicken-and-turkey blend was praised by the judges, making Kyle smirk with pride at his friend’s accomplishment.

Finally it was Jaxon’s turn and the judges all made faces after biting into his stuffed crabs.

“What recipe did you use?” the head judge asked, taking a glass of water as it was offered to him. “Quite a lot of butter.”

Jaxon looked stunned and tasted one of the crabs. Then he rushed over to his station. “Someone swapped my mayonnaise with butter substitute!”

The judges finished their waters. They conferred briefly and then the head judge said “Despite a valiant effort, Aria will not be advancing and neither will Jaxon; while his variation was daring and the extra butter might have been suitable, the precise combination of ingredients weren’t properly compatible.”

Jaxon began ranting but was escorted off the stage as the judges congratulated the remaining contestants.

Kyle stared after him. Then he looked at Jaxon’s station. _‘I don’t think pumpernickel would have worked in the recipe even without the mayo-butter swap…’_


	11. Chapter 11- Dash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dash and the group decides to track down some of the other contestants for clues.

Dash frowned at Kyle’s confused look on his face as the group approached. “What happened?”

“Another sabotage.” Agatha answered, sitting on the chair next to him. “This time, Aria and Jaxon were eliminated.”

“How?” He asked.

Ava spoke up. “Someone switched out Aria’s cooked chicken for a raw one, and Jaxon’s crab had too much butter… way too much butter…”

Dash sighed and ran his hands through his hair. _‘This is the part where they start asking me what I’m really doing here, isn't it?’_

Ezra frowned. “So we only have Hiedi, Ava, George Jones, Daniel Riggs, Logan Martin, Oliver Reid, Layla Clinton, Zara Curry, and Sienna Shaw left… if we keep going with this, one or two more will be eliminated next round.”

“Which is the flavor swap.” Agatha added, tucking her hands behind her head. “Unless we interview the remaining contestants and the losers if there’s anyone that they think might be doing this to them…” she mused aloud.

Dash silently thanked her as the four started talking among themselves, then Maudie pulled away from the group. “Ava, Agatha, and I can talk to Hiedi, Layla, Zara, and Sienna. Do you guys think you can talk to the boys?”

They nodded and Agatha smiled. “Great! Thanks guys!”


	12. Chapter 12: Jaxon/Ava/Aiden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaxon makes a deal with the devil... and it's not pretty.

Jaxon glared at the wall of his hotel room. His parents wanted to stay in the area to visit some family but he was sulking in their hotel room. It wasn’t fair that he had been disqualified after someone sabotaged his dish.

With a sigh, he pocketed his key card and went outside for a walk.

“Excuse me?” Jaxon looked up as a man walked towards him. “Are you Jaxon Green?”

Jaxon nodded.

“I’m staff for the Kid Chef Challenge and I gotta say it was totally unfair that they just dumped you like that.”

Jaxon’s frown deepened. “What do you mean?”

The man shrugged. “I mean that they were against you from the beginning and took the opportunity to add in some drama after someone messed up your dish.”

Jaxon growled.

“Say; do you want to get back at them?”

Jaxon cocked his head. “How do you mean?”

“Well, I have a plan. You help me pull off a sabotage of our own in the next round and not only can we lure out the actual saboteur but we can call out the show for covering it up for publicity.”

Jaxon found himself grinning. “Tell me more.”

XXX

Ava waited as the judges sampled her “chocolate meringue pie” (really ground beef held together by a light tomato paste and topped with garlic mashed potatoes) and “pizza” (really a cake with cream cheese frosting over strawberry jelly and topped with carefully chopped and deseeded kiwi and “olives” made from blueberries; she was quite proud of her toppings as they had been tricky to cut correctly).

“These are excellent.”

A few minutes of deliberation went on before the head judge began “This round, we unfortunately have to eliminate…”

There was a loud bang from Heidi’s station, making everyone present jump.

A security officer ran over to the station and examined the now smoking oven. “Looks like someone set off an explosion in here. Fortunately it was small enough that no one was hurt but if it had gone off while being used…

Heidi looked pale and she wasn’t the only one.

Ava pulled away from the other contestants to join her friends.

“How on Earth did an explosive device not go off while Heidi was baking?” Maudie asked in a shaky voice. “She used her oven for both her dishes.”

“It’s likely the explosive device is one that isn’t activated by heat,” Dash said. “Instead it goes off when either a timer goes off or someone presses a specific button.” He shook his head. “But now is the time for us to go to the authorities. Putting unwanted ingredients in a dish is one thing; trying to blow someone up is quite another.”

XXX

“What the hell are you playing at?”

Aiden gave the boy who was helping him a baleful look. “What are you talking about?”

“You could have blown someone up!”

“I thought you thought girls didn’t belong in a competition like this.”

“Doesn’t mean I want any of them blown up!” Jaxon shook his head. “I’m turning myself in.”

Aiden growled as the boy turned to go and lunged forward, pinning him to a wall.

“What the...let me go!”

Aiden reached into the pack he wore and pulled out a strynge. “Sorry, Kid. But I need to buy some more time.”

He injected the boy and left his now paralyzed body on the floor before slipping on his stealth tech. He needed a bit more time to fully formulate his getaway plan but seeing Agent Parker’s girlfriend with those four kids was giving him an idea…


	13. Chapter 13- Agatha/Maudie/Dash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agatha finds Jaxon.  
> The girls are kidnapped.  
> Dash gets caught.

Agatha was walking toward the hotel’s main lobby when she first heard the thudding against the wall. _‘The hell?’_

She started walking toward the sound as a middle aged staff member walked past her, turning the corner to see a hotel room door still open and a hand lying in view of the doorway-

Agatha started running, bursting into the room as she knelt next to Jaxon Wright, his eyes staring at the ceiling as he lay on the floor. Agatha pressed her hand to his neck, internally sighing in relief as she realized he was still alive. _‘But why isn't he moving…?’_ She grabbed her phone and started calling the police and Dash, briefly noting the syringe in his arm as her boyfriend picked up. _“Agatha?”_

“We have a problem.” Agatha hissed, turning Jaxon onto his side and taking out the syringe. “Get over here as quickly as you can.” 

_“I’m on my way.”_

XXX

Maudie looked up from her computer as Agatha left Jaxon’s hospital room. “Is he…?”

“He’s okay.” Agatha said softly, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Or he will be. The doctors aren't sure yet.”

She glanced at Ava and sighed. “I'm sorry I had to bring you two with me.”

Maudie and Ava shared a glance and she sighed. “I’m okay, Aggie. It’s just- I don't think this is safe anymore.”

Agatha smiled softly at her. “I know, Maudie. I know. Now come on. If I remember correctly, you girls still have schoolwork to do.”

She helped the girls to their feet and they started walking for the entrance. They had just exited the hospital when someone grabbed Ava’s hand and yanked her into an alley with a scream. 

“AVA!” Agatha yelled and the two girls raced into the alley to see a middle-aged man with a cloth over Ava’s nose and mouth and pointing a gun at the two girls. 

“Now, now, Miss Mistery… be a good lass and come with me…” he purred in a horrible attempt at her native Irish accent.

She glared at him. “No way in HELL! Now let her go!”

The man rolled his eyes. “Suit yourself.” He let go of Ava, her body falling to the floor and Agatha caught her before there was a hissing sound and her world started spinning...

XXX

Dash pulled his hand away from his mouth and frowned. The computer was taking a really long time to decide which drug Jaxon had been given… He glanced at his phone again for the fifthteenth time in the 30 minute research he had been doing. _‘Nothing from Agatha… she’s probably with Maudie and Ava right now.’_

The computer finally dinged with the notification that it had found what he was looking for. He sighed in relief and glanced at the screen.

“...SHIT!” He yelled, slamming his fist against the wall in anger. “It’s propofol! Shit, shit, shit…” he trailed off and started searching for the drug that could counteract the damage already done before the realization hit him. _‘Duh, Dash, he’s in a hospital… they have the medicine and the means to deal with this…’_

He shook his head and buried it in his hands. “I'm one of the lousiest spies in existence.” He grumbled and set to cleaning his workspace before he heard the door creak. _‘What the-’_

Dash spun around to see Ezra and Kyle standing in the doorway, eyes wide and mouths open. 

_‘Well… SHIT.’_


	14. Chapter 14: Ezra/Maudie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezra struggles with the truth.

Ezra’s eyes narrowed as his shock bled into anger. “So...you’re a spy. Here on some kind of mission.”

Dash flinched and nodded.

“So was anything over the past few days real? Because you lied about your job…”

“I do computer work!” Dash protested but then he flinched again as Ezra’s glare hardened. “It’s...just not all I do.” He raised a hand to cut Ezra off. “But the visit was real. Agatha was over the moon to visit with Maudie and she’s gotten fond of you two and Ava.”

“But you’ve been spying while you were here,” Kyle said, apparently over his shock.

“That was sheer rotten coincidence,” Dash groaned. “Several prisoners escaped Newgate and one of them somehow managed to escape to Melbourne. Since I was coming here anyway, I was put on the case. Apparently Hudson decided to screw with this competition for his own amusement since he somehow managed to evade me.”

“Maybe he’s got something that can make him invisible?” Kyle suggested. “That would explain how he got out of the UK.”

Ezra stared at his friend. “That’s...actually sort of brilliant, Kyle.”

Dash nodded. “And it makes sense. I’ll have to look into what’s gone missing that could induce invisibility but right now we need to find the girls.”

“How do you plan to do that?” Ezra asked.

“Tracking Agatha’s phone; I have a couple of ways to find her when we’re separated.”

Kyle gave Dash a concerned look. “You have trackers on your girlfriend? That’s creepier than having a girlfriend.”

“One, you won’t think having a girlfriend is creepy forever and two, she’s well-aware of it.”

Dash fiddled with his phone briefly. “Okay; the phone is in the hotel. Let’s find it and see what we’re up against.”

It was only a few minutes searching to find the phone...dropped on the floor and abandoned.

Dash grumbled something under his breath that Ezra didn’t quite hear but probably shouldn’t repeat. “All right; plan B. Hopefully the tracking pin Agatha wears looked innocuous enough that Hudson didn’t take it off.”

“So when are we going?” Ezra and Kyle said together.

Dash opened his mouth but then closed it, apparently reconsidering what he had been about to say. Then he sighed. “As soon as I get a lock on Agatha’s location.”

XXX

Maudie blinked awake. Her head hurt, her vision was a complete blur and her hearing was fuzzy. She could hear Agatha yelling at someone, sounding absolutely furious. Then she caught something about Dash and smiled weakly.

_‘The boys will find us and then the bad guy will get arrested and things can go back to normal.’_

Her eyes closed again and she knew no more.


	15. Chapter 15- Agatha/Dash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agatha argues with Hudson, who asks a question that she'd rather not answer.
> 
> Dash has a choice to make... and it's one he'd rather not have to.

Agatha glared daggers at the man in front of her. 

“You son of a bitch! My friends will find us and they will make sure you are put away for good this time!” She snapped.

Aiden raised an eyebrow at her. “Or your boyfriend Agent Dash Parker?” 

At her stunned silence, he continued “You see, I knew that you were coming to Australia and I decided to meet you here, just to see if those little rumors flying about were true.”

Agatha frowned. “How? And what rumors?”

He gave a click of his tongue. “I'm afraid I cannot answer your first question. But the rumors? Those rumors flying around of a couple, a male Brit and a female Scot-Irish, with the powers to turn invisible and summon your greatest fears…”

He trailed off as Agatha frowned at him. “They’re just rumors, aren't they?”

She nodded and he clicked his tongue again. “Pity. And I thought you were actually worth my time.” He leaned against the wall and shrugged his shoulder “Ah, well. I suppose this will have to do.”

_‘What has to do…?’_

Her world started spinning as Aiden leaned closer to her face. “Good night, Agatha Mistery.”

XXX

“I found her!” Dash yelled, startling the two boys up from their drowsy state. “Come on, let’s get going!”

They raced down the stairs as Dash started dialing on his phone. "Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up..." He muttered as they raced toward a gigantic warehouse only a few blocks away from the hotel. 

Dash shoved open the door and raced into the room before screeching to a stop. Aiden smiled fiercely at them from across the floor, holding a blue vial in his hand. “Welcome to Australia, Agent Parker.”

Dash opened his mouth to say something, but Aiden beat him to it. “Your girlfriend asked me the exact same question…” he gestured to his left and the girls appeared, slumped over in chairs, unconscious.

Dash’s heart began to pound. “Aggie…” he whispered.

Ezra and Kyle took a step toward the other two girls before Aiden wagged a finger at them. “Nuh-uh-uh, you two. I have one last challenge for your friend here.”

“What did you do?” He hissed, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.

He shrugged casually. “Oh, you know, the usual poisoning with Thallium-”

“YOU DID WHAT?!?” He yelled.

“DON’T INTERRUPT ME!!!” Aiden snapped viciously, dropping his hand to his side. “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I have poisoned one of these lovely ladies with Thallium Sulphate. While I do have the Prussian Blue antidote,” he waved the vial in his hand. “It only only works once.”

Dash started growling as Ezra and Kyle stepped closer to him. “So here is my challenge to you. Find out which girl was poisoned, and if you’re right, I’ll give you the antidote and let myself be arrested by the police and ASIS waiting outside. Smart move, by the way, making sure that the proper authorities were right outside and ready to barge in at your signal. If you’re wrong…” he started chuckling. “If you’re wrong, you have their death and my escape on your hands. Best of luck to you!”

He stepped back into the shadows and theatrically whispered “You’re going to need it…”


	16. Chapter 16- Dash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dash rescues the girls.

_‘Well, SHIT. This is Aiden’s handiwork alright…’_

“It had to be Thallium…” Dash muttered as he pressed the scanner icon on his phone. “It had to be bloody Thallium…”

“What are you talking about?” Kyle asked.

Dash sighed and grabbed a makeshift IV out of his suitcase, attaching it to Ava’s wrist. “Thallium is one of those deadly poisons that you can't detect by normal means. It takes about a week for the symptoms to set in, and you don't know that you have been Thallium poisoned until after the symptoms have set in… but in this case, we’re working backwards. We know it’s Thallium. He has the antidote. Now we just have to figure out which one of the girls was poisoned.”

“How can you find who was poisoned if you can't detect it?!?” Ezra asked worriedly.

Dash fiddled with the makeshift IV and pulled it away from Ava. “You can find it only if there’s an excess amount of it in your blood or urine.”

Kyle made a face and he chuckled, attaching the IV to Maudie’s arm. “Yeah, and knowing Aiden, there’s going to be an excess amount in someone’s bloodstream…” Dash trailed off and suddenly ripped the IV away from Maudie, grabbing his gun and pointing it at Aiden, whose eyes went wide. 

“I take it you figured it out?”

“Give me the antidote, Hudson.” Dash growled. “NOW!!!”

Aiden walked toward him, opening his hand to reveal the vial and Dash snatched it from him, pressing a button on the pager to alert the authorities outside. “Kyle, Ezra, untie Maudie and Ava.” He stated as the police barged in nearby.

Dash pressed the vial into Agatha’s arm and waited for a few minutes. As the ambulance and medics came into the room, her eyes fluttered open. 

_‘Oh thank God…’_

“Hey.” He whispered quietly.

“H...hey…” she whispered back. “Th… the girls…”

“They’re okay.” Dash whispered. “Now come on. The medics are coming to get you and the girls out of here.”

She chuckled. “Ma...Maudie was right… things are getting back to normal…”

Dash grabbed her hand and squeezed it as the medics walked the group over to the ambulance where Maudie and Ava were being checked over and Agatha offered her cousin a small smile. “It’s going to be okay.” He said softly.

The four exchanged looks and nodded. “Next time, tell us the truth before we get involved in a case.” Ezra said with a smile.

Dash chuckled. “I will. I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "What?! Four chapters today?!"   
> Yeah, I figured why not post them all at once.
> 
> And Thallium is a real poison! The information about Thallium came from here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5449837/


	17. Chapter 17: Maudie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maudie readjusts to her life while talking with Agatha.

The hospital room rang with light laughter as Dash and Agatha playfully mocked each other with embarrassing stories from their past.

Maudie smiled. “Good to see everything is back to normal.”

The laughter stopped as Agatha gave her an appraising look. “Maudie, what’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“The laughter isn’t in your eyes.” Agatha glanced at the other three members of the Inbestigators in turn. “Nobody’s is.”

There was a long silence. Then Maudie sighed. “I...I guess we never thought about what real detective work entailed. You two and the rest of the Network told your stories but...all of them ended well and I guess in retrospect, there was a lot of glossing over certain details for our sakes.”

“We’re not babies,” Ezra grumbled but it lacked bite.

Agatha and Dash exchanged a glance. Then Dash said “We don’t think you’re babies. You’re just younger than we are. It’s a natural instinct to protect younger members of a group.”

Agatha let out a half-laugh. “Just ask...come to think about it, any member of the Network who isn’t Encyclopedia or Sally. There are so many chat logs where someone gets lectured by more than one of their elders for doing something crazy during a case.”

“Most of Rob’s antics,” Dash said.

“How often the Green Lawn trio went off investigating without telling an adult any part of what they were doing.”

“KC will never live down that it was her idea for what was intended to be two kids to go after people who had kidnapped and cloned the President.”

“The only reason no one really lectures the Cluefinders is that they generally told people what they were getting up to and the few exceptions involved something going sideways and having to be dealt with right away.”

“We get it!” all four Inbestigators chorused.

“We really need to look into hiring a therapist for the members of the Network,” Agatha said thoughtfully. “I mean it would seem none of us will ever stop finding trouble so we might as well have someone on call who can help us deal with all of it.”

Dash shook his head. “I don’t know if there’s anyone who would be willing to do that but we can look into it I suppose.” He laughed. “It’s not like between the lot of us, we couldn’t work out decent payment. Especially after we fully launch the consultation; I’ve heard that there’s massive attempted head hunting for Encyclopedia alone and the Cluefinders have been active as a group for years so imagine the demand for accessing the minds of pretty much every kid detective currently active.

Maudie let herself smile again. Maybe things weren’t back to normal or completely okay yet...but they would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIN! Thank you all so much for reading and we hope you enjoyed! We'll be back again tomorrow with yet another story!


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